Random Selections from the Life of a Wife and Mother of Two in Florida

Thursday, July 1, 2010

St. Augustine Adventure: Day Four or Light House, Little Sister and More Research

Day four starts with breakfast with the squirrels again (we eventually needed to buy one more bag of peanuts before our trip was through).

The Colonel and I made our way to the St. Augustine Lighthouse. We climbed it back in 2003 with Yam and Spud (before it was made famous by TAPS, the ghost hunters on television; we did not experience any entities) so we opted not to climb the 219 steps to the top this time. I snapped a couple of pics. Here is one of them.

As we were at the lighthouse I got a phone call from my little sister. She and her husband would be passing through St. Augustine on their way to Savannah from Miami. They would be in town around lunchtime and would love to see us, have lunch and do a little sightseeing. We would love it too.

The Colonel and I had some time to spend before they arrived. We did a little shopping while we waited.

J & J arrived and after hugs and kisses of welcome, The Colonel and I escorted them through the Old City Gates and onto St. George Street, the main street of the Spanish Colonial city.

We passed by the Oldest Schoolhouse on our way to the Columbia Restaurant.

The Columbia Restaurant serves excellent Spanish and Cuban cuisine. J & J loved their lunch. The Colonel and I as well as Yam and Spud always enjoy eating at the Columbia Restaurant, especially at the original one in Ybor City in Tampa.

After lunch we took J & J around sightseeing. We visited the Cathedral Basilica. It was beautiful inside with many painted murals depicting the history of St. Augustine. Then we stopped by Flagler College. The college is housed in what was once the very opulent Ponce de Leon Hotel built by Henry Flagler in 1887. My sister and I used the restroom while there...the ladies restroom had a fireplace in it! It must have been something to stay at the Ponce de Leon in its hey day. It is a fantastical building. A must see!

Across the street from Flagler College is the Lightner Museum, it is housed in what was once the Alcazar Hotel, also built by Mr. Flagler. It is not as ornate as the Ponce de Leon, but still impressive.

Next we took J & J to the Castillo de San Marcos (the fort) for photo ops (time was too short to tour the inside).

After the Castillo visit The Colonel parted ways, he had more research to conduct, so I took J & J on to the grounds of the Ripley Museum to see the statue of David and a four room house, carved from a huge redwood tree laid on its side. From there I took them to the Mission De Nombre De Dios to see the huge cross, the Our Lady chapel and the gift shop.

Inside the gift shop was a little room that held the outer coffin of Pedro Menendez de Aviles, the founder of St. Augustine and his portrait. There was also a diorama depicting the first mass being offered after Aviles landed.

It was finally time for J & J to hit the road and continue their trip up to Savannah. We said our goodbyes and then I joined The Colonel at the research library.